Michele Bachmann's Speech -- Harmful to GOP?

Here is the text from the speech Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn)gave at the invitation of the Tea Party after tonight's SOTU. I have heard a lot of criticism from GOP spokespeople that Bachmann undercut/competed with the official GOP rebuttal given by Paul Ryan (R-WI). What do you think?What do you think of her message?

Washington (CNN) -- Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minnesota, responded to President Obama's State of the Union speech on Tuesday night from the Tea Party Express headquarters. Here is a transcript of Bachmann's speech.

Bachmann: Good evening. My name is Congresswoman Michele Bachmann from Minnesota's 6th District.

I want to thank the Tea Party Express and Tea Party HD for inviting me to speak this evening. I'm here at their request and not to compete with the official Republican remarks.

The Tea Party is a dynamic force for good in our national conversation, and it's an honor for me to speak with you.

Two years ago, when Barack Obama became our president, unemployment was 7.8%, and our national debt stood at what seemed like a staggering $10.6 trillion. We wondered whether the president would cut spending, reduce the deficit and implement real job-creating policies.

Unfortunately, the president's strategy for recovery was to spend a trillion dollars on a failed stimulus program, fueled by borrowed money. The White House promised us that all the spending would keep unemployment under 8%. Not only did that plan fail to deliver, but within three months, the national jobless rate spiked to 9.4%. It hasn't been lower for 20 straight months. While the government grew, we lost more than 2 million jobs.

Let me show you a chart. Here are unemployment rates over the past 10 years. In October of 2001, our national unemployment rate was at 5.3%. In 2008, it was at 6.6%. But just eight months after President Obama promised lower unemployment, that rate spiked to a staggering 10.1%. Today, unemployment is at 9.4% with about 400,000 new claims every week.

After the $700 billion bailout, the trillion-dollar stimulus, and the massive budget bill with over 9,000 earmarks, many of you implored Washington to please stop spending money that we don't have. But instead of cutting, we saw an unprecedented explosion of government spending and debt. It was unlike anything we've ever seen before in the history of the country.

Well, deficits were unacceptably high under President Bush, but they exploded under President Obama's direction, growing the national debt by an astounding $3.1 trillion.

Well, what did we buy? Instead of a leaner, smarter government, we bought a bureaucracy that now tells us which lightbulbs to buy and which may put 16,500 IRS agents in charge of policing President Obama's health care bill. Obamacare mandates and penalties may even force many job-creators to just stop offering health insurance altogether, unless, of course, yours is one of the more than 222 privileged companies, or unions, that's already received a government waiver under Obamacare.

In the end, unless we fully repeal Obamacare, a nation that currently enjoys the world's finest health care might be forced to rely on government-run coverage. That could have a devastating impact on our national debt for even generations to come.

For two years, President Obama made promises, just like the ones we heard him make this evening, yet still we have high unemployment, devalued housing prices, and the cost of gasoline is skyrocketing.

Well, here's a few suggestions for fixing our economy. The president could stop the EPA from imposing a job-destroying cap-and-trade system. The president could support a balanced budget amendment. The president could agree to an energy policy that increases American energy production and reduces our dependence on foreign oil.

The president could also turn back some of the 132 regulations put in place in the last two years, many of which will cost our economy $100 million or more. And the president should repeal Obamacare and support free-market solutions, like medical malpractice reform and allowing all Americans to buy any health care policy they like anywhere in the United States.

We need to start making things again in this country, and we can do that by reducing the tax and regulatory burden on job-creators. America will have the highest corporate tax rate in the world. Think about that. Look no further to see why jobs are moving overseas.

But thanks to you, there's reason for all of us to have hope that real spending cuts are coming, because last November, you went to the polls, and you voted out the big-spending politicians and you put in their place great men and women with a commitment to follow our Constitution and cut the size of government. I believe that we're in the very early days of a history-making turn in America.

Please know how important your calls, visits and letters are to the maintenance of our liberties. Because of you, Congress is responding, and we're just beginning to start to undo the damage that's been done the last few years, because we believe in lower taxes, we believe in a limited view of government and exceptionalism in America. And I believe that America is the indispensable nation of the world.

Just the creation of this nation itself was a miracle. Who can say that we won't see a miracle again? The perilous battle that was fought during World War II in the Pacific at Iwo Jima was a battle against all odds, and yet this picture immortalizes the victory of young GIs over the incursion against the Japanese. These six young men raising the flag came to symbolize all of America coming together to beat back a totalitarian aggressor.

Our current debt crisis we face today is different, but we still need all of us to pull together. But we can do this. That's our hope. We will push forward. We will proclaim liberty throughout the land. And we will do so because we, the people, will never give up on this great nation.

"The perilous battle that was fought during World War II in the Pacific at Iwo Jima was a battle against all odds, and yet this picture immortalizes the victory of young GIs over the incursion against the Japanese. These six young men raising the flag came to symbolize all of America coming together to beat back a totalitarian aggressor."

I just don't know what to say anymore. She had weeks to prepare this speech and do research for her anecdotes, and she still didn't do it. The fact that she actually said the quoted paragraph above on national television is not only a sign of historical ignorance, but fact-checking laziness. I can actually accept the former, because everyone is ignorant about some aspects of history. The latter, however, I cannot accept from someone who aspires to be President of the United States of America. That kind of laziness does not belong in the White House, EVER.

In absolutely no way was the Battle of Iwo Jima (Operation Detachment) a "battle against all odds", unless Bachmann was speaking from the Japanese perspective. The United States had an overwhelming superiority in both numbers of soldiers on the island and weapons. The Japanese used "last stand" tactics to hold back the siege for as long as possible, but they knew from the start they were going to lose the island.

Also, the Japanese government might have been described as totalitarian, but to say the Japanese were "totalitarian aggressors" during the Battle of Iwo Jima is just dishonest. They were soldiers under orders to hold the island for as long as possible from the American onslaught and to give their life rather than surrender. Both sides fought bravely during this battle, and the young Americans who raised that flag certainly were heroes, but there's no need to distort history.

She is eerily similar to Sarah Palin in her tactics.I heard a GOP Congressman say about her, "Michele Bachmann is only out for Michele Bachmann."The commentators who interviewed her didn't ask her anything about her message. All they wanted to know was whether she thought her speech competed with/detracted from Paul Ryan's.

For the record, Ryan's speech was not much better than hers.Obama is evil. He is responsible for the unemployment situation and the deficit (which he inherited from Bush). Smaller government, free enterprise. American exceptionalism, God bless America.

They can't be honest about anything political without committing political suicide. They find it easier to complain than to explain. The gop has red dogs now in their house. The democrats have had to deal with blue dogs for years. It's going to be interesting.

The Dem's said the same words about Bush. Whomever the next president is will have the same words said about him or her. Doesn't matter how well you do, someone is po'd. They will call you names and denigrate whatever you do. That's politics. Don't like it, stay on the porch.

Ms. Bachmann "explained" plenty. I just got finished reading the political fact check on her speech.Lie, lie, lie, lie.Not a shred of truth in any of the numbers she quoted.Or the charts she showed as "evidence."Oh well, let Boehner and his cronies deal with her.Should be fun theatrics!

All lies? While there is definitely some spin there, her "facts" are not complete fabrications. Granted half truths make the best lies. However, how's the job market? Has the deficit increased?

As to your question, her speach was NOT helpfull. It clearly shows a power struggle within the GOP. It would appear that the party of "NO" is now the party of "I DON'T KNOW".

One thing is clear. The run away spending has to stop. You can't spend your way out of deficits. You can't reduce revenues when your spending money you don't have to begin with. There are serious issues with both parties ideas.

Who cares what the republican establishment thinks? I love Michelle and I totally agree with her message. Obama's policies are a complete undisputable failure as everyone can see by any measure! And what does he propose in his SOTU speech? MORE of the same!!!

Liking her "ideas" isn't good enough. Her ideas alone aren't good enough. The political landscape in America has NOT changed. Many of these Tea Party members were NOT vetted. The Dem attack machine is comming. The skeletons will be thrown from the closet for all to see. The media will have a field day with each new revelation.

She's harmful to anyone who's got an iota of a brain!!She said there was no inequality in America after the Founding Fathers got here.Well, of course! If you don't admit to any wrong-doing why should you be involved in making it right?

For god's sakes....these Native Americans and African Americans had it so good all this time.Just because they were slaughtered for their land and and made slaves for the whites does not make it a bad thing!!!!

At least they get to be here and see wonderful me speak!!!Oh, me and Sarah, that's all you need to know' We spread the gospel wherever we goYou may not like it cause we made it upBut you'll dam sure take it, or meet my AK 47 Pup!!!

What I would like to know from both the GOP and Tea Party representatives is this:When was the last time America was truly "exceptional"?If you listened to Obama's speech you heard a dose of reality.We are not an island. We do not stand alone.We live and must participate in a global economy.We need to REINVENT this nation for the FUTURE.Yes, it's wonderful that America is the only country in the world formed on an "idea/ideal" but that alone cannot sustain us.Whether we like it or not, times have changed. The world has changed, and America needs to change.We need to shift our thinking to what we face NOW.I seriously would like to hear someone tell me something POSITIVE that your party would do to fix things.Not just kneejerk anti-Obama rhetoric.Real solutions to solving the deficit, unacceptable unemployment, poor quality education, dismal health care, rampant mental health failures -- if I've missed anything here, please address that too.OBAMA SUCKS does not answer the question.Tell us what are you going to DO???

Really? You act as if the democrats are the only ones with ideas! Much has been offered, and written about solving our probl;ems, but for the most part the democrats have blocked them.America must return to a country of individuals that self rule. We must reject the idea that we need to be led by the political elites. We must provide our own solutions to our problems and stop expecting government to be the answer for everything!If there is one thing that must change in this country it is our selves. We must go back to self reliance, and personal responsibility. Doing so will relieve the government of providing for us things they just can't do very well.You can't tell me we can't cut 20% across the board every single federal program, yes including defense! You can't tell me we can't simplfy the tax code, a flat tax for ALL! 15%. The answers are simple, but it takes courage to do what's right and to forget your OWN personal interest. I could fix this country tomorrow if I was allowed to.

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